In this article we will look into jumping the boat over stoppers and drops.

A jump over a stopper is the creation of lift upstream of the stopper to smoothly navigate over it. There are many ways of achieving lift but we will try to look at the simplest way first.

For this article we will be focusing on jumping the entry sluice at the slalom course at Holme Pierrepoint.

We said above that the jump is just the creation of lift over a stopper, this is true, but why must we create lift?

This is the outline of a stopper.

Now imagine the stopper firstly as a hump. We must create lift of the bow to get over this hump and onto the on top window. If we create enough lift, at the right time, then the boat will run smoothly over the stopper. No matter what jump we do and what strokes we use, this is the goal.

The Gap

Now often we have a few things on our side. As we can see, the water upstream of the stopper is higher than the stopper itself. So all we have to do is create enough lift to jump the gap between the lip and onto the on top window. This gap and height of changes from stopper to stopper, so no jump is the same.

Timing and lift

The timing and the amount of lift on the jump stroke is crucial. Too early a jump and we do not manage to jump over the gap onto the on top window. Too late or not enough lift and we do not get the bows over the hump and onto the on top window. The most important thing is the feeling that the bows land/smash/pancake onto the on top window. This smashing of the bows also creates displacement on the on top window creating a groove for the rest of the boat to follow through. When we have a good jump you can sometimes hear the bow make a thump noise as it lands on the on top window.

How to create lift/jump

Let’s start simple. We need to create lift and ideally forwards momentum to jump the gap and lift over the hump. In a slalom boat, in order to lift the bow we must sink the tail, so a sweep stroke with edge will be ideal.

As you can see, we edge into the sweep to help raise the bow.

Jumping

Now we know how to create lift, we can jump the boat. As we said before, timing and placement of strokes is important, and in addition to this, angle, edge control and our body positions are also important.

Let’s have a look at a jump over the entry sluice and see exactly what is needed.

If our aim is to jump straight though the stopper, then we want to be landing straight and perpendicular to the stopper. We know one of the best ways to create lift is to sweep. This sweep also creates rotation, therefore we must have angle above the stopper in order to sweep and then land straight. (Lift can be created off straight, but is far harder and may be covered another time)

We can see using the protractor that boat is off straight at the start of the jump, then upon landing on the on top window the boat is straight and perpendicular to the stopper. The angle of the boat on take off will alter person to person and jump to jump. Whatever works best for you – although somewhere between 50 and 60 degrees I think is probably going to be best. Less angle (60-90) and you won’t get all the lift possible off the sweep, too much (0-50) and you won’t land straight. Imagine the stopper being a hump and the length of a slalom boat. Our body position forwards/backwards is very important. Once we land the bows on top of the on top window, if our weight is further back than centre (ie leaning back) then our tail will be sucked under by the power of the water on the tail. If however, we lean forwards as the bows smash onto the on top window, then it crates a rocker/see saw effect. The tail can become light and we almost can run down the other side of the hump.

Leaning back on landing can create a porpoise effect, and have the bows fly up in the air.

We can see in the splitscreen below how not landing straight and leaning back causes the bows to fly up in the air and be out of control.

What can also help us is edging. As we sweep we are edging onto the blade we are sweeping off.

Upon landing, if we keep that edge on or flatten off, the tail can catch in the pit, water piles the pressure on the tail and again the bows fly up in the air. If we can switch edges then the tail slices up through the water like a knife with no resistance. Watch the first video to see this edge change and below for when it goes wrong.

This switching of edge upon landing is useful, however we can see in this video that although the tail is going down, the boat shoots off left. In the last example I even land pointing a little right, but because I haven’t switched edge and the tail catches in the pit the bows fly back left. This can also be useful and is the start of fakies and fakie sweeps, but we will cover that later. For now though, we want the boat running downstream quickly off the jump, so it is best to roll the edge.

Angle, edge control and body positioning

We can see in the video below filmed from below the stopper,

- The angle above to landing straight - The edge on jump and the edge on landing - The body positioning forward on landing

No Lift?

We have all felt it, getting stopped by the stopper, the stopper then grabs the tail and we end up pointing at the sky – Not a nice place to be.

In my experience, jumping later is better than earlier, and lean forwards. If not enough lift is created then at least you have speed though the stopper. If you jump too early then the bows land in or before the pit of the stopper and you effectively nosedive into the stopper, which stops you completely.

Here is a quick video showing another way to create lift

Land Drills

Edging practise

Creating lift drill

So a summery of some scenarios - cause and effect

Getting water on chest.

Jumping too early or not creating enough lift – so not jumping gap and landing on the on top window.

What can also help us is edging. As we sweep we are edging onto the blade we are sweeping off. Upon landing, if we keep that edge on or flatten off, the tail can catch in the pit, water piles pressure on the tail and again the bows fly up in the air. If we can switch edges then the tail slices up through the water like a knife with no resistance.

This switching of edge upon landing is useful, however we can see in this video that although the tail is going down, the boat shoots off left. In the last example I even land pointing a little right, but because I haven’t switched edge and the tail catches in the pit the bows fly back left. This can also be useful and is the start of fakies and fakie sweeps, but we will cover that later. For now though, we want the boat running downstream quickly off the jump, so it is best to roll the edge.

In a few weeks time I am going to combine this jumps series of articles along with the using stoppers series and discuss fakie sweep jumps on stoppers.